Behind Every Cloud (44 page)

“
I haven
’
t heard much from her either. She seems to spend all her time shopping and she doesn
’
t bother with me any
more.
”
Melissa
’
s voice was bitter.

“
Yeah, well, that
’
s Louise for you.
”

She got up to go, giving him her hand.
“
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I
’
m sorry and I know you didn
’
t deserve that treatment.
”

“
Thanks, Melissa, I appreciate that,
”
he said as he showed her out.

That was nice, he thought. It was obvious that Melissa was miffed that Louise had dropped her. It didn
’
t surprise Ronan in the least.

Marcus couldn
’
t believe what he was hearing.
“
Are you crazy, Zita?
”
This guy
’
s married and a politician. You can
’
t be serious?
”

“
I know, I know,
”
she said grumpily, annoyed with him for raining on her parade.
“
Nobody need know about it. We
’
ll be very discreet.
”

“
Are you mad? Get real. This is Dublin you
’
re talking about
,
where everybody knows everybody else. And he
’
s a public figure to boot.
”

Zita said nothing. She didn
’
t care what Marcus said. Carl didn
’
t appear to be worried about being seen in public with her, so why should she be? She was secretly delighted that he wanted to do this. It meant that their relationship was moving to another level
.

She and Marcus went out for an Indian meal together but things between them were strained. He couldn
’
t believe how foolishly she was behaving. Could she not see that Carl Dunne was only using her? This was so unlike Zita that he was seriously worried. He wanted to help her but she was being stubborn. Damn that man anyway. Marcus wanted to throttle him.

Ellie had great fun making out a new list of wedding guests. She
’
d decided to ask the group from the wine course – Rachel, Ronan, Sam and Zita. She wasn
’
t too wild about the latter but she couldn
’
t very well invite the others and leave her out.
Pretty much how David felt about his colleagues, she supposed.

She arrived into work on Friday morning and knew instantly that something awful had happened. Chloe was crying and Susan, the boss
,
looked devastated, her eyes red and swollen from crying too.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Ellie asked, terrified that someone had died or something.

“
I have to close the business for good this evening,
”
Susan said.
“
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
But why?
”
Ellie cried.

“
Well, you know business is down and now that the lease is up, the landlord has put up the rent to an unacceptable level. I just can
’
t continue.
”

“
But what will you do?
”
Ellie knew that Susan
’
s husband was unemployed and that she had five kids to support.

“
I
’
ll continue from my own home but unfortunately I can
’
t take you or Chloe with me.
”

Ellie went over to Chloe and put her arm around her.
“
Don
’
t worry, you
’
ll get something else. You
’
re a great beautician and qualified. You
’
ll find something.
”

“
No, I won
’
t,
”
Chloe replied, wiping her eyes which made her mascara smudge all over her face.
“
Beauty salons are closing left, right and centre. There are not enough jobs out there for us all.
”
She sniffed and blew her nose.

“
Well, maybe this is your chance to open up on your own
,”
Ellie said.
“
You always said there was a need for a salon in Baldoyle and you have the space in your dad
’
s house.
”
She desperately wanted to lift her friend
’
s spirits
. “
We have a lot of customers here and Susan will not be able to handle them all on her own. Isn
’
t that right, Susan?
”

“
You
’
re right,
”
Susan replied, brightening up. She felt really bad for the girls, making them unemployed at such a time. If Chloe could start from home
,
that would make her feel a lot better.
“
I won
’
t need all my equipment so I
’
m sure we could come to a good arrangement
.”

As for Ellie, Susan knew that it was an awful time to be pulling the rug from under her, what with her wedding just around the corner, but she had no choice. There was nothing she could do. At least Ellie
’
s fiancé was pretty well off.

Chloe
had brightened up considerably. She rang her dad straight away to ask him if what they suggested was possible. To her relief he thought it was a great idea and agreed to finance the equipment.

The rest of the day was a flurry of activity. They made out little cards with Susan and Chloe
’
s new locations on them and handed them out to the clients who were all very sympathetic. The champagne that Susan had sent Ellie to buy from Superquinn helped to placate them and they assured the two girls that they would continue to give them their business and spread the word. As Ellie observed at the close of business while the three of them sat sipping the remnants of the champagne,
“
They don
’
t actually have much choice. There
’
s no other beauty salon in the area. I think you
’
ll do great
,
girls.
”

“
Let
’
s drink to that!
”
They raised their glasses to each other.

Ellie had tried to put on a brave face all day but on her way home in the DART that evening, she wondered what the hell she was going to do. She wasn
’
t a qualified beautician so there was no possibility of her going out on her own. She wasn
’
t really qualified for anything and there were no jobs available anyway. It was utterly hopeless.
Luckily her dad and David were paying for the wedding reception and the money Uncle Matt had left her would take care of everything else. Otherwise she would have had to downsize the wedding, big-time.

Carl rang Rachel at five
thirty.
“
Honey, we have an emergency here. I have to go down to Wexford tonight to represent the Minister for the Environment at a dinner as he can
’
t get away. I
’
m sorry
,
sweetheart. It will probably be very late so I
’
ll stay the night there. I hope you don
’
t mind.
”

“
Well, I don
’
t suppose it matters whether I do or not,
”
she said resignedly.

“
Love you, sweetie,
”
he said as he hung up.

Carl arrived at Zita
’
s apartment at six thirty brandishing
, not champagne this time, but a huge bouquet of red roses.

“
Oh, they
’
re lovely,
”
she
exclaimed, burying her nose in their wonderful scent.

He watched her as she put them in a vase of water, noticing that she was wearing a fitted dress that hugged her body like a second skin.
She was also wearing very high black heels and black fishnet stockings – or at least, he hoped they were stockings. He felt his erection starting but tried to calm down. If they went into bed now they
’
d never get to the restaurant.
He
’
d booked them into a very upmarket, expensive restaurant in Dalkey
.
He
’
d been there before and he knew that the clients who frequented it were not the type to go running to the paparazzi. It was very discreet and exclusive
.
If they did bump into anyone he knew, he could always use the excuse that they were discussing a TV programme she was producing.

As it turned out, they met no one they knew, which was a relief. They
had a wonderful meal and he was his usual charming, seductive self so that by the end of it Zita had to admit to herself she was falling in love with him.

Rachel meanwhile, depressed after Carl rang to say he
’
d be away for the night, opened a bottle of wine. She put the steaks back in the fridge. No point in cooking just for herself. She
’
d fed the children already so she
’
d just have some cheese with her wine later.

Settling down with her wine she watched the news on TV but her thoughts were miles away. She was quite drunk by the time Carl rang at eleven to say goodnight. Even so
,
she could tell he was angry with her. To hell with him! She wouldn
’
t be drinking so much if he was home with her. She dragged
herself up to bed,
wondering if this was how her life was going to be in the future
.

Meanwhile, back in Zita
’
s apartment
,
Carl made fantastic love to her and it was wonderful to feel his body next to hers all through the night.

The next morning she cooked him a proper Irish breakfast which he ate with gusto. She smiled at his appetite. It was as healthy as his appetite for sex and life.
He was wonderful. She felt a deep sense of disappointment
when he said he had to leave. She knew he had to get home to Rachel and the thought of him there filled her with envy. How fantastic it would be to be living with him and have him in her bed every night
!

Marcus had gone away for the weekend and she missed him as he was the only one she could talk to about Carl. It was going to be a lonely weekend.

When Carl eventually got home, Rachel was in very bad form
.

“
I
’
m getting sick of it,
”
she cried
. “
You
’
re out every evening and now you
’
re even missing at weekends. It
’
s not fair, Carl. Not on me and not on the kids.
”
She looked at him accusingly and he had the grace to look guilty.

“
I
’
m sorry sweetheart. Look, why don
’
t we go out tonight, just the two of us. I
’
ll call and book The Brass Monkey.
”
He took the phone and dialled.
“
Then tomorrow we
’
ll take the kids somewhere for the day – maybe the zoo.
”

She looked at him to see if he was joking. Carl hated the zoo with a vengeance. Even though they had an annual family membership for it, he could never bring himself to join them there.

“
What about your golf game?
”

“
I
’
ll cancel it.
”

She was disbelieving. This was a first. Somewhat appeased
,
she wondered if he was
feeling guilty about something.
“
Well, Jacob and Becky will be delighted. I
’
ll go and te
ll them.
”